The Minister of Steel Development, Mr Shuaib Abubakar, says Nigeria spends $8 billion to import steel into the country annually, saying it has become necessary for the Ajaokuta steel company to work.

The minister disclosed this during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Steel Development in Abuja on Thursday.

According to him, the revival of Ajaokuta steel will cost money, and we have written a 10-year document for the revival. We will present the document to Mr President.

Abubakar said that it was in his own interest for Ajaokuta Steel to work, adding that he was from Kogi State and must push for such interest.

He said that the Federal Government paid $500 million dollars to terminate the concession agreement with Ajaokuta, adding that the ministry was working very hard to find a solution for Ajaokuta Steel.

“It is a problem that has persisted for 45 years. We have gone to China to come and invest in the steel company, including setting up a new plant, and we have gone to seek financing.”

He said that the challenges had changed as new technology had come up, and with innovation and discussion around it, but it had not been finalised.

“Funding is a big challenge to the ministry of steel development. The steel industry will be the bedrock of industrialisation if we have proper funding.

“I am still at a stage where I need to find a solution for the Ajaokuta steel company.”

On the $2 billion being requested to receive the Moribund steel company, the minister said it was just a preliminary calculation, adding that the figure might not be up to that.

According to him, this is an estimate that may not be accurate at the last decimal point. It is just a process that will allow us to arrive at the right destination.

“The president has asked me to find a solution to Ajaokuta, so the figure will change pending the outcome of the technical audit.

“It’s clear to Nigeria that for this to happen, we need funding and all the help we can get from the two chambers; this is why we need it. I need all your support to make this a reality.”

The Chairman of the House Committee on Steel Development, Rep. Zainab Gimba, urged the ministry to provide it with all the procurement processes and other responses demanded by the committee.

The committee said that Ajaokuta had remained a nightmare to many, adding that now that the minister had accepted to supervise it, Nigeria expected more from him.

By Jeleel Olawale

The Special Taskforce set up by the Osun State Government to monitor the Petroleum Scarcity has raided filling stations in Osogbo, the State capital.

The Taskforce which has the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye as the chairman, went round filling stations in Osogbo, Ifon, Ilobu today to ensure that marketers do not hoard the products while people suffer from petrol scarcity.

The Taskforce team which consists of Commissioner for Government House and Protocol, Honourable Soji Ajeigbe, Commissioner for Youths, Hon. Moshood Olagunju has two Special Advisers to the Governor, Hon. Babatunde Badmus and Alhaji Nurudeen Emiloju, among others.

At Muhy International Investment filling station at Ayekale, the committee ordered the manager to start dispensing as it was discovered to be hoarding about 800 litres in its PMS tank.

Addressing the petrol marketers and members of the public waiting to buy Petrol products, Hon. Soji Ajeigbe appreciated the managers of the filling stations that were seen dispensing the products.

According to him, the Taskforce was not out to shut down or witch-hunt any petroleum marketer but to ensure that any station found hoarding the product started dispensing the products immediately to the members of the public.

The team also took time to address members of the public on the need to be orderly and law-abiding, assuring that the state government is doing everything possible to facilitate more allocation of PMS to the state from the depots in Lagos and Port Harcourt.

Members of the public who were happy at the activities of the Taskforce were full of appreciation for the state government for being responsive to the public cries.

It was carnival-like from Agunbelewo where okada riders started following the taskforce from one filling station to another as those who were not selling before started dispensing the products ahead of the task force’s visit to their stations

The Taskforce inspected PMS tanks of the stations that were not dispensing the products to ascertain that they were not hoarding the product.

Parts of the stations visited include Major and Independent marketers as well as NNPC retail stations in Osogbo, Olorunda, Irepodun and Orolu local Governments.

Members of the Taskforce include Honourable Niyi Olaniyan, S A policy Coordination, and security agents.

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has said that a policy that would enforce road worthiness of truck heads plying roads in the state would be put in place.

Addressing the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo and his entourage, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, after visiting the site of last Saturday’s explosion, Governor Abiodun said attention would also be paid to gas cylinders used by the trucks to ensure quality and standard.

The Governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, said the steps became necessary in view of the preponderance of gas utilisation in the state.

He said, “I was very worried when the report of the incident reached me, and the reason for that is that Ogun State is the industrial capital of Nigeria with over 6,000 manufacturing industries and companies. We enjoy gas reticulation more than any other state in Nigeria.

“With the explosion, a lot of questions were asked as to what happened, how it happened, and the lessons learnt. We have received a preliminary report from the Ministry of Environment.

“We have taken some steps to forestall future occurrence. We have shut down the company involved to conduct a safety audit, and investigations are ongoing to determine the immediate cause of the incident and how to ensure that it does not repeat itself.

“We must ensure that truck heads that convey gas are road worthy. We are going to put in place a policy that enforces road worthiness of trucks and looks at issues around standards. These issues will govern quality and assure us of the quality of the gas cylinders.”

Prince Abiodun said he was worried about how the public would perceive the incident, especially with the constitution of the Presidential Task Force on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to deepen the provision, utilization and off take of gas across the country.

He stressed the need for the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to be up and doing as the gas industry is fast evolving, noting that it was necessary to ensure adequate regulation of the industry.

While appreciating President Bola Tinubu for commiserating with the government and the people of the state on the incident, Governor Abiodun assured that his administration would collaborate with the federal government to find out the immediate cause and what needed to be done to guide against future occurrence and how to support those affected.

“I am glad that you have come and demonstrated that utmost responsiveness and concern which is heart warning and I am sure that your coming itself will assure the people of Ogun State that they are not alone in this